Eric Miyeni Movies
- 2006
Three close friends return to post-Apartheid South Africa after years in exile to find just how much life has chanced in their homeland in director Norman Maake's feature adaptation of the popular South African mini-series. Inspired by the real-life experiences of screenwriter Zola Maseko, Homecoming offers the affecting tale of three lifelong friends and African National Congress veterans who struggle to maintain their powerful bond while pursuing their individual paths in life and integrating themselves back into a society that has experienced massive social and political change. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tony Kgoroge, Siyabonga Twala, (more)
- 1997
A coproduction of Canada's CBC and the South African Broadcasting network, the weekly 60-minute drama series Ekhaya: A Family Chronicle was set in 1989. Eric Miyeni starred as Darryl, an expatriate South African writer living in Toronto with his Canadian wife Rosa (Julie Stewart). Obsessing over the possibility that he is still being stalked by the South African secret police, Darryl recalled the tragedies and deprivations experienced by himself and his family under the oppressive Apartheid system. Ultimately, Darryl became a firebrand political activist, determined to return to South Africa to right old wrongs, even though it may cost him his life. The first of the series' 13 episodes was shown by the CBC on January 23, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
In this drama, a South African exile returns to his homeland to find that justice hasn't brought peace. Vusi Madlazi (Ice Cube) is a student and political activist living in San Francisco; he was born in South Africa, but his connection to anti-apartheid rebels made his family fear for his life, so he was sent to the United States, where he's been ever since. When he attends his father's funeral, Vusi visits South Africa for the first time since the fall of apartheid and Nelson Mandela's rise to power. However, he discovers that not all the changes in his country have been for the better; drugs and gang violence have begun to overtake Soweto, and his older brother, once a dedicated anti-apartheid activist, isn't sure what to do with his life now that the changes he fought for have come. Vusi's mother asks a favor before he returns to America; his younger brother Steven (Eric Miyeni) has run away, and she wants Vusi to look for him. While searching for Steven, Vusi meets his brother's girlfriend Karin (Elizabeth Hurley), who works as an exotic dancer. It turns out that both Karin and Steven have become addicted to crack, and Steven's disappearance is probably linked to a $15,000 debt he owes to crime kingpin Muki (Ving Rhames). Director Darrell J. Roodt's previous film was Cry the Beloved Country (1995), the first major film produced in South Africa after the collapse of apartheid. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ice Cube, Elizabeth Hurley, (more)
Alan Paton's classic novel about two fathers coming to terms with personal loss and the emotional scars inflicted on South Africa during the era of apartheid was brought to the screen for a second time with this adaptation, the first major film produced in South Africa after Nelson Mandela's election ended mandatory white rule in that nation. Rev. Stephen Kumalo (James Earl Jones) is a minister from a poverty-stricken farming community who travels to Johannesburg for the first time in search of his son Absalom (Eric Miyeni), who moved to the city some time back and has gone missing. Kumalo regards the big city as a den of iniquity, and his low expectations are not betrayed; he is robbed and beaten shortly after he arrives, and when he visits his brother John (Charles S. Dutton), he discovers that Absalom has become a petty thief with a pregnant girlfriend, his sister Gertrude (Dambisa Kente) is a prostitute, and John has renounced his faith in God and advocates the violent overthrow of South Africa's white leadership. James Jarvis (Richard Harris) -- a wealthy white landowner from the same part of the country as Kumalo -- has also arrived in Johannesburg, also with sad personal business to attend to; his son, a well-liked activist for the rights of the city's black majority population, was killed during a robbery. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Earl Jones, Richard Harris, (more)
Living up to its tagline, "Payback can be deadly," this installment in the popular-on-video Kickboxer series follows the travails of a displaced fighter out to avenge his friend's death. Stepping in for former hero Sasha Mitchell -- who in turn stepped in for original Kickboxer Jean-Claude Van Damme -- is Mark Dacascos, playing Matt Reeves, the longtime buddy of David Sloan (formerly Mitchell, here played by an uncredited actor). When he finds out that Sloan was murdered after refusing to join a nefarious boxing organization, Reeves travels to South Africa to get Bollen (Greg Latter), the evil leader of the cult-like federation. Redemption: Kickboxer 5 was given the "Redemption" prefix upon its 2003 video release. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
This 1993 film adaptation of Percy Mtwa's South African play Bopha was rendered anachronistic by late-breaking events, though it still contains plenty of food for thought. Danny Glover stars as a black police officer in the waning days of apartheid. Though dedicated to his job, Glover has mixed feelings concerning his loyalty to the white status quo. His self-doubt is further intensified by the rabidly racist remarks of his new superior, Malcolm McDowell. Making things even more difficult for Glover is the increasing radicalization of his own son (Maynard Eziachi). Percy Mtwa's "never forgive, never foreget" subtext will be unsettling for some viewers-just as it was intended to be. Alfre Woodard, who previously played Winnie to Danny Glover's Nelson in the 1987 TV biopic Mandela, is again cast as Glover's wife. Bopha was coproduced by talkshow host Arsenio Hall, and directed by Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Danny Glover, Malcolm McDowell, (more)
